Vulnerability
by FantastiqueParfait
Summary: Left home alone during a bandit attack, Kagome attempts to take matters into her own hands.


**A/N: This is a slightly expanded and revised version of a fluff prompt response I posted earlier today to Tumblr. It is 200 words longer and, I would say, more emotionally fraught than the original (which already barely counted as a fluff prompt given the subject matter). I hope you enjoy.**

****Vulnerability****

The bandit attack was unexpected; they'd been caught off-guard with little time to react.

"Stay here!" Inuyasha had barked, tossing Kagome's quiver and bow at her before rushing out the door.

That was three hours ago.

Kagome, very pregnant and very worried, spent the first thirty minutes trying to barricade the door to their home. Unable to move any of the large chests in the living area into the genkan, she gave up and sat with her back against the door, pushing as much of her weight as possible against it as reinforcement.

_Not ideal._ Inuyasha would not be pleased with her when he returned.

_If he returns_, she found herself thinking.

It wasn't like her to worry like this, but it was hard not to as the hours continued to tick by. She couldn't sleep – she was too disturbed, and though their home was a fair distance from the village she could hear the chaos faintly from where she sat. Listening to screams and smelling smoke for so long (not to mention the pregnancy's impact on her emotional resilience) was hardly soothing.

So Kagome worried.

She worried about Sango and Miroku and the children, about Shippo (even though he was away training for the kitsune examination – _what if there's danger where he is too?_). She worried about poor, elderly Yae in the village – would someone protect her? She had no living kin to care for her – who would make sure she stayed safe? Miroku and Inuyasha and the other village men could only do so much…

_And what if "so much" wasn't enough?_

Would the bandits find her? What would happen? Would she and Sango and the other village women and their children be rounded up like the women in the village attacked by Gatenmaru so long ago?

She felt sick. She wanted her mom.

She missed her mom so much. And Souta and grandpa, too, but it had been a year since she returned through the well and so much had changed. Kagome held out hope that maybe one day the well would work again, or she and Inuyasha would find a way to overcome time once again, even if just to leave messages somewhere her family would find them. There were so many things that Kagome desperately wanted to tell her mother.

_And now you might never get to tell her_.

Kagome's blood ran cold as she was startled by the sound of footsteps approaching the house.

_No. No no no no nonononono._

The door handle started to move. She did her best to push more weight against the door, bracing her feet on the floor and pushing from her thighs to keep the potential invader out. Her life depended on it.

_More than your life depends on it_.

Whoever was on the other side of the door was strong – much stronger than she was – and they continued trying to enter the house. Kagome was running out of energy; there was only so long she could counter the invader's attempts.

She would've been in a better position if she'd been standing and blocking the door with her whole body, but she couldn't stand for three hours and… Kagome was pretty sure she couldn't stand up without help any more.

She was stuck here. Exhausted, terrified, pregnant, and helpless. Completely unable to rise from a seated position to run for safety.

She was a sitting duck. The realization gutted her.

She couldn't do it, Kagome realized as her legs began to shake violently from her efforts. She was going to fail.

_Not without a fight, at least._

Kagome grabbed an arrow from her quiver. Her bow would be useless at such close range, but at least she could use the arrow to stab.

_It's no sword, but if he's not too tall and I aim just right… I can maybe hit the femoral artery._

She would have to.

It would be her only chance.

Kagome took a deep breath and said silent apologies – to Miroku and Sango, to Shippo… to her mother. To Inuyasha… to the baby…

Kagome suppressed a sob and let her legs drop from their bent position, her feet no longer pressing desperately against the compacted dirt floor. The door began to open.

_Now._

"NO!"

Adrenaline surged through her veins as Kagome thrust her arm forward, toward the invader's right thigh, only to find her wrist caught by a much larger hand.

"The fuck are you doing, wench?"

The tension immediately left Kagome's shoulders and she collapsed on herself, sobbing from the intense relief of hearing her husband's voice.

"What were you thinking? I almost _stabbed_ you," she couldn't stop her self from wailing desperately.

"What was I thinking? What were _you _thinking? You can't just stab people for coming in the door, idiot!"

"I was so scared… I'm sorry…" Kagome tossed the arrow to the other side of the genkan and let her head drop into her hands.

Inuyasha managed to squeeze through the opening in the doorway and seated himself between Kagome's legs, taking stock of the situation.

This wouldn't do. Kagome was red-faced and shaking, from anxiety or exhaustion or some combination of the two, her hair disheveled.

"Hey, look at me," Inuyasha murmured, grabbing her hands and crawling closer to bring his forehead to hers. "You're okay. I'm okay. Everyone's safe."

He brushed the stray hairs out of her face.

"Everyone's safe?" Kagome asked shakily.

"Everyone," Inuyasha reassured. "Sango, Miroku, the girls, Kaede, old Yae; nobody was killed."

Kagome let out an ecstatic sigh.

"Come on," he continued. "Let's get you up and moved to somewhere more comfortable. You better not have gotten yourself so worked up that we have an early arrival."

"I think we'll be fine," Kagome smiled as she allowed her husband to help her to a standing position. "I didn't get 'so worked up' until you decided to scare me half to death – this whole situation could've been avoided if you'd just called through the door that it was you, you know."

"Keh. Not my fault you were so frazzled that you didn't even notice my youki. That's on you," Inuyasha countered as he led her to their bedding and helped her position herself on the futon before settling down next to her.

They stayed snuggled together for the rest of the night, Inuyasha stroking Kagome's hair as she dozed off. He didn't sleep. Though things went relatively smoothly this time, there'd be no guarantee for the next. Shippo would just have to postpone his next training trip, Inuyasha decided.

He would not be leaving Kagome alone and vulnerable again.

* * *

**Quick note: since apparently there's some confusion - Yae is just a random village lady. Not Kaede; just a lady Kagome is worried about. Hope that clears stuff up!**


End file.
